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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — of the year
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. march — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. season — in sport
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — to trim
  21. march — the month
  22. prune — to trim
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. safe — out of danger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com